My mother planted a willow tree in the south east corner of our garden
I do not know why she chose it – perhaps it was all she could get in a time of austerity. But it was a good choice for a small garden. Nice shape, unusual – the only one in the dale I think. Gave a bit of shade & privacy
And it made a lovely hidey hole for a little girl. I can remember playing in my ‘house’, hosting many a doll’s tea party
Our proper house was brand new one, with a brand new garden. Small but not tiny. There was room for a lawn, with a swing & a sandpit, & a vegetable patch as well as flowerbeds
In the mornings the coal shovel was kept ready by the back door for when the milk man came round. By unspoken agreement you had rights to any horse manure which was dropped in the lane outside your house; so good for the garden
Mummy was saddened to hear that the new occupants had cut down the willow tree
But now that it is abandoned & a Site of Special Scientific Interest I like to think that its offspring might at least live on in a catalogue somewhere
Link
The Wye Valley
The Wye Valley
